C-AS NOV2016 Meeting Minutes

St. Patrick's Altar Society

 

November 2016 Meeting Minutes                                        Attendance: 22 members

            Due to the feast day of All Saints Day, the start of the St. Patrick's Altar Society meeting for November was delayed half an hour so that Society members could attend Mass. The meeting opened with a Hail Mary. The minutes from the November meeting were read, and after a slight adjustment to the comments on the special altar cloth and the refreshments for the Pro-Life talk, were approved. For correspondence, there was a thank you from Diane N. for the bible gift, and a thank you from Father for the STARS donation. The Treasurer’s report was read and approved. A suggestion was made and approved to designate $800 for the coffee maker in the report.

                Fr. Schweiger provided his construction/parish updates. The new carpet in the rectory basement has been installed. The Parish Mission went very well and the Centennial Garden project is going well too. And Father is hopeful that the ground work for the St. Vincent de Paul garage will start Saturday.

                Melissa told the members that the Bake Sale/Lunch Counter during the Craft Fair did very well. The Society made over $1100 that day. She also shared that the Pro-Life talk had about 25 attendees and the serving of the refreshments went well due to the generosity of a couple of ladies at the last minute. The LDCCW Diaper Drive wrapped up at the end of October and the diapers were delivered. And the $200 donation to the STARS event was confirmed received by the thank-you letter from Father.

                A count of 8995 Best Choice labels was shared with the ladies. Since no one was able to sew the special altar linens in time for Christmas, Eileen W. reached out to Sunkist Cleaners for a bid. Eileen W. received a bid of $30-$35. A motion was made and approved to have Sunkist Cleaners sew the linens. Eileen W. also mentioned the opportunity for volunteers to work an event at the Lancaster County Event Center on December 6, 7 and/or 8. Several shifts in various lengths are available. Money made for the volunteer work will be given to the Society. She told the members that if anyone is interested in volunteering, to give her a call. Melissa said that she would send an email to all the members on this great fundraising opportunity.

The annual December Cookie Sale fundraiser is scheduled for December 3 and 4. Melissa B. shared with the group that a request was made to move the date, due to a conflict with an event in the gym. After a small discussion, the decision was made to leave it as scheduled. People will be at the church for Saturday-night Mass anyway and the other event is in the gym. The group did not see a reason to postpone this fundraiser. In lieu of passing around a sign-up sheet, Melissa said that she would use email to get volunteers to work the sale. While the group was discussing Christmas, the members were asked if our annual Christmas Party should be during our December meeting, or our January meeting. It was decided to have the party in January during the actual “Christmas Season”, like last year.

Father gave an update on the statue restorations. He had contacted a couple of priests that had statues recently restored and they both recommended the same artist, Eileen Ratigan. He said that he would appreciate some help in contacting her and getting a bid. Kathy K. volunteered to assist Father with that. Then Father notified the members that his group is almost ready to start on the cabinets for the social hall. He stated that he needed the appliances on site that so that he can build the cabinets to fit around the appliances, to avoid having to rework the cabinets. The members reviewed the social hall schematics and discussed probable requirements for the cabinets and such. A motion was made and approved for a small group to determine the typical uses of the appliances, find appliances that meets those needs, find competitive pricing, and to purchase the refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker and sink. The small group consisted of MaryJo L., Diane N., Eileen W. and Kathy K. They agreed to research their assigned appliance and to meet the next week to get alignment on appliances and pricing. And they agreed to purchase the appliances before Thanksgiving so that the appliances would be delivered in time for the cabinet-making process to start.